


accidentally in love

by Saerwenn



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 5+1 Things, Accident prone Takeda, Accidents, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Hurt/Comfort, Karasuno, Karasuno Family, M/M, Minor Injuries, Volleyball Dorks in Love, a bit of blood, finding love through constantly taking care of takeda, protective ukai
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:01:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28699590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saerwenn/pseuds/Saerwenn
Summary: 5 times Takeda gets an unlucky injury, and 1 time he realizes why he's so accident prone.
Relationships: Takeda Ittetsu/Ukai Keishin
Comments: 12
Kudos: 66





	1. face

**Author's Note:**

> so this idea started when I laughed my ass off again at Ukai literally yeeting Takeda off a bench, and then really solidified into something when I watched him trip and fall flat on his face and Ukai looks horrified and I thought up this disaster.   
> this is a self indulgent get together fic, where I will injure Takeda for LOVE'S SAKE IM SORRY BOO  
> Please leave me comments! I love this pairing so much! <3

1.

There are moments in everyone’s life that stand out to them; an epiphany of sorts. Keishin groaned as he blew another puff of smoke through his chapped lips on his walk to the school gymnasium. A moment that stood out to him right now was less of an epiphany and more of a pain in the ass: being conned into teaching a bunch of kids. 

It wasn’t his fault, he mused as he walked into the bright lights and scuffing shoes of the volleyball court. That damn teacher had pushed him into it. 

Said teacher was already at practice, talking to Asahi and Daichi about the plays they were trying to set up and looking completely out of his depth. His hair was messier than usual, as if a hand had been nestled in the curls willing his brain to understand the sport he was supposed to be teaching, and his notebook was crumpled and busting at the seams. Ukai chuckled as he sauntered over to help the frazzled advisor. It had been a few months of this now, of helping Takeda with practice and helping the kids with the game, and Ukai was loathe to admit that it was less of a pain in the ass to be here, and more of a thrill. 

“Ukai-kun!” Takeda exclaimed in relief as he caught sight of the bleach blonde, immediately turning his body towards him and extending his notebook to the air between them, “Thank goodness you’re here!” 

“Lost without me eh, Sensei?” he joked, accepting the notebook and flipping through the pages, “What’s the play?”

The slight flush that appeared along Takeda’s nose was briefly noted before the teacher turned back to the game. As Ukai started to get to work, falling into the easy repertoire of coaching and analytical thought, he wondered how he could feel so at home with these bratty kids. 

Takeda was all over the place behind him, sometimes sitting down and scribbling furiously in his notebook, others just outside speaking on his phone, sometimes standing right beside him and watching over his shoulder, asking a million questions about the drills that Ukai was running. Ukai assumed he would find the teacher’s behavior infuriating, annoying to the point of snapping, but it was an odd comfort to talk out loud and know without a doubt someone was listening. Their routine was easy to fall into, once they found it, and Ukai found himself missing Takeda’s presence when he was pulled away to faculty meetings or one of the boys required his attention. 

Speaking of attention, Tanaka and Nishinoya were starting to get rowdy on the sidelines waiting for their turn to practice receives. Takeda walked away from Ukai’s side to collect his notebook, and stood in front of the bench to write something in it. Ukai had his eyes trained on Kageyama’s receive, but he was actively listening to their two loudest players and their increasing taunts. Tanaka was betting Nishinoya that he couldn’t intercept the next receive. Nishinoya shouted. And what happened next was practically slow motion. 

Ukai yelled. 

Nishinoya was already in the court. 

Daichi had spiked a ball towards Kageyama.

Nishinoya got his arm out, but it hit the side of his wrist and went careening sideways across the gym. 

Yachi screamed. 

Hinata screamed. 

Takeda looked up from his book a split second before the ball hit him in the face. 

Then there was...complete silence. 

Takeda groaned, and Ukai snapped out of his horrified stupor to quickly stride over to the teacher’s side. He had fallen backwards, the sheer force of the ball knocking him over, and was sprawled out on the floor with one arm propping himself slightly up, the other being held to his nose. His glasses were off-kilter, and looked bent. 

“Takeda, shit, are you alright?” Ukai hissed, dropping to his knees and immediately swiping the blue frames off their perch on the teacher’s nose so he could get a look at the damage. Two angry red welts were carved upwards across the bridge of his nose, where his glasses had sunk into the flesh and scratched him. Takeda’s brows were scrunched up in pain, and when Ukai pulled lightly on his hand he refused to move it. 

“Blood,” he mumbled, and Ukai cursed. 

“Hey, idiots! Get me a wet towel, quick!” he bellowed, everyone scrambling to obey. To their credit, Nishinoya and Tanaka looked absolutely horrified. 

“Sensei, man, we’re so sorry!” Tanaka yelled, Nishinoya vigorously nodding his head in agreement. Takeda blinked a few times and turned to face them, obviously trying to smile but wincing in pain. 

“I’ll be alright, but this could have been a lot worse,” he lectured, even through a bloody hand, “You need to remember the cause and effect your actions have on the people around you.” 

Ukai snorted. Takeda’s disappointed voice was worse than being screamed at, and the way the two boy’s shoulders drooped lower with every word was proof of that. 

“Yes, sensei,” they cried, bowing. Yachi came running back with a cold cloth, and Ukai took it from her. 

“Come on, let’s get this swapped with your hand, then we’ll get you cleaned up eh?” he said, inwardly cringing when Takeda finally removed his hand to take the towel and pools of blood dripped into his lap and down his shirt. Ukai evaded the bloodied hand, opting to press the towel to the teacher’s face himself rather than immediately soil the rag. Takeda let his hand drop onto his already dirtied sweater, sighing. 

“I’m gonna help you to your feet to get you on that bench, alright?” Ukai instructed. Takeda nodded and slowly climbed to his feet. When he wobbled and his arms flailed outwards, Ukai grasped the clean hand tightly to steady him.

He had no time to think about how the heat of Takeda’s palm against his much larger, calloused hand sent sparks of adrenaline shooting up his arm. No, right now he needed to be a coach. He could think about that all night. 

Getting Takeda seated comfortably, and setting his glasses and notebooks down, Ukai got to work wiping the teacher’s other hand off with another towel so that it was clean enough to hold the nosebleed rag in place. Ukai was glad he wasn’t squeamish, but Yachi looked like she was about to throw up and Asahi was pale as a ghost. 

“Get everything cleaned up, you morons,” Ukai barked, “We’re absolutely done for today. If you aren’t gonna puke, someone get a mop out and help me clean up over here. Maybe find a different shirt for your poor Sensei to wear home.”

Everyone yelled and scrambled to obey their coach, hearing how pissed off he was about their blunder. Takeda sighed once again, muffled from the fabric. 

“Sorry, Ukai-kun,” he muttered, turning his brown eyes up to the coach. They looked glassy and red, like he was trying hard not to cry. Ukai blinked. 

“What the hell are you sorry for, Sensei? Those dumb brats injured you. They should be the ones that are sorry,” he deadpanned, grabbing his backpack and searching for the bottle of painkillers that he knew were in there. 

“I suppose, but now I’ve interrupted and cancelled practice,” he said, “This shouldn’t be a big deal, I can likely just walk home and sleep it off. You could all still work on receives! Our practice match isn’t far away!” 

Ukai turned back to Takeda, a bottle of water in one hand and two pills in the other. Making sure to look directly into those brown eyes, he frowned. 

“Listen, Take, I know exactly how much this hurts. Even more so with those damn welts from your glasses. You might even get a black eye. Cut yourself some slack and take these before the headaches start.” Takeda accepted the pills and the water, removing the towel to swallow them. Ukai grimaced. The bleeding looked like it had mostly stopped, but the teacher’s face was covered in blood and his nose was already purpling around the bridge. Takeda must have noticed his staring, because he gave him a lopsided grin. 

“I suppose I look as bad as I feel then, huh?” he chuckled, replacing the towel. Ukai grinned back. 

“Not bad, but a little disgusting. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up and changed and I’ll walk you home.” 

Takeda jumped, launching into a tyranny of no need’s and you’ve done enough’s, but Ukai simply marched him to the bathroom, grabbing the sweater Suga had handed him and barking at the rest of the kids to get lost before he came back. When they got to the large community bathroom, Takeda dropped the towel and squinted into the mirror. 

“I’m feeling that headache you mentioned,” he moaned, rubbing his temples, “How do some of these kids get a ball to the face everyday?” 

“They’re all young and stupid and too hopped up to care,” Ukai chuckled, “Do you need a hand washing up?”

“I want to say no,” Takeda sniffed, “But I’m feeling very woozy. But I’ve already imposed on you so much Ukai-kun, what with asking you to coach and for all your hard work, so --”

Takeda’s rambling cut off with a very not-called-for screech as two strong hands grabbed him by the hips and hoisted him onto the counter as if he weighed nothing. He clung to Ukai’s forearms as the world pitched sideways for a moment, and once his head stopped spinning he was staring down into sharp blue eyes. 

Ukai released him and turned on the tap. 

“Look Sensei, I know we barely know each other but I’m gonna need you to strip.” 

When he received no response, he glanced back over to see a very bright red, very embarrassed Takeda, and he laughed despite himself. 

“Come on Take, we’re both adults here,” he chuckled, “Besides, I’d be doing this for any of the boys right now if they were injured and dizzy, so just get over it and let me help you.” 

Takeda was still blushing furiously, but he finally obliged and shrugged out of his soiled jacked and white dress shirt, until he was sitting on the counter bare chested and covering himself with his arms. Ukai noted that his pale shoulders had turned a slight pink, and shoved all thoughts of why the word cute was coming to mind away while he started wiping Takeda’s face down. 

The two stayed completely silent, Takeda looking away and Ukai trying to clean the blood off his face and neck. He finally grasped the teacher’s face with two firm but gentle fingers to be able to work properly. Takeda shut his eyes and sat still as Ukai washed him. 

The awkwardness and intimacy of the moment was not lost on either of them, but Ukai pushed forward, his own guilt in not running practice smoothly and letting his teacher get hurt fueling him to make it right. He taped a large bandage over the bridge of his nose, and helped Takeda tug the black sweater over his head before resituating his blue glasses atop the padded surface. Takeda blinked a few times, still silent, and Ukai worried he had crossed several lines. 

Then Takeda grinned at him, and he let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. 

“Thank you so much, Ukai-kun,” Takeda said, grasping his forearms once again to hop off the counter and only slightly swaying, “If your offer of walking me home still stands, I’d be very grateful. I’m about ready to collapse into bed and sleep for a day.” 

Ukai nodded in affirmation as they made their way back out to the now-empty gym, gathering their things and beginning the short walk to Takeda’s apartment. They chatted about the practice, with Takeda asking a few questions but not as many as Ukai was used to, and he found himself missing the bright comradery of the teacher when he was his usual self. 

“We’re here, Ukai-kun,” he commented as they slowed to a stop in front of the two storey building. “Thank you for all your help this evening. I’ll see you at practice tomorrow?” 

“Only if you’re feeling better, Takeda,” Ukai lectured, and the teacher laughed. 

“Tell you what,” he said, reaching out and placing his phone in Ukai’s hands, “Give me your number and I’ll let you know if I’m going to make it or not?” There was a faint blush adorning his cheeks, and Ukai spent no time reaching out to grab the phone and enter his number. 

“I look forward to hearing from you then, Take,” he said, saluting the teacher and lighting his much-needed cigarette, “Get some sleep.” 

“You too, Ukai,” Takeda grinned as he waved goodbye and disappeared inside.

On the walk back to his apartment above the convenience store, Ukai couldn’t stop thinking about milky white skin and large brown eyes, and as he fell asleep that night he decided he was maybe warming up to that pain in the ass teacher… just a bit.


	2. body

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ukai doesn't want to let Takeda get injured again.   
> Takeda, however, is a bit accident prone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter! I just love these boys and their developing feelings, but damn i want to just rush right to the end lmaooo

2.

After the incident with Takeda, Ukai kept a much closer eye on the Karasuno troublemakers at practice. Takeda’s nose was finally a normal colour again, and although there was still a small bandage taped across to hide the rapidly healing scratches it was a vast improvement from the bruised and bloody scene prior. 

One thing that had come of the incident was a new friendship, Ukai noted. Takeda had texted him the day after his injury letting him know he wasn’t going to make it to practice, and after a set of gruelling drills and a huge lecture, Ukai had forced the kids to leave and think about the fact that any one of them could cause serious injury to another person. Seeing as it was still early evening, he grabbed some soup and snacks and marched over to Takeda’s, ignoring the look of embarrassment he received from Takeda when he opened the door in sweatpants and a t-shirt. He himself needed a moment to recover from the sheer domesticity of the teacher in his home environment. 

“What are you doing here, Ukai?” Takeda had inquired, and the softness of his voice wasn’t lost on the coach. He obviously had a massive headache. 

“Taking care of you,” Ukai simply stated, putting the food and drinks on the dining room table. “I sent those idiot kids home and figured you wouldn’t be feeling up to cooking.” A pause in his train of thought, “I’m not intruding, am I?” 

Takeda sniffed. “You aren’t intruding at all, your presence is quite welcome. I’m just afraid I won’t be much of a host. My head is really killing me, and my entire face feels bruised and swollen.” 

“Hence the soup and soft food,” Ukai gestured proudly, “I’ve had one too many volleyballs to the face Takeda, I didn’t come to be entertained. I came to help out.” Takeda smiled, a small ghost of his usual beaming, toothy grins but the sentiment was preset. 

“I’ll grab cutlery,” he whispered, and soon they were seated at a low table across from each other talking about the team. 

“I’ll have to get more stern,” Ukai was saying, “So this never happens again.” 

“What?” Takeda inquired, “Me getting hurt?” 

“Yeah, you or anybody. Those kids are complete powerhouses, but they can’t just run wild. I don’t want to let this happen again.” 

“Well, it’s not your fault Ukai,” Takeda insisted, but every time Ukai looked at his bruised, sore face his stomach flipped over. Whoever was to blame, he did not want to let Takeda get hurt ever again. 

He spent quite a few nights wondering why. 

However, a few weeks later, during a practice match with Nekoma, it happened again. 

Not the same, but similar. 

A stray ball went careening to the sidelines, and since Ukai had been meticulously watching for just this scenario, he was prepared to intercept. However, Takeda was in the line of fire, and Ukai knew his reflexes weren’t going to get him out of this one unscathed, so he did the only thing he could think of. 

He took off running, and shoved Takeda. Hard. 

The team advisor hit the ground with a solid oof, while Ukai landed practically on top of him. Once again there was deafening silence, but this time there was a warm, pliable body underneath Ukai, groaning in pain. Ukai swore. 

“Are you okay?!” he repeated, forcing himself to get up off the teacher and kneel down by his head. Takeda’s face was scrunched up, but nothing appeared to be bleeding so that was a bonus. 

“I am-- just had the wind knocked out of me,” Takeda wheezed, sitting up and placing his hands on his thighs to catch his breath. 

“Did you hit your head?” Ukai asked, already feeling around for a bump through the teacher’s curly hair. Takeda shook his head, and Ukai had a hard time untangling his fingers from the messy locks. 

“Really, I’m fine,” he said, grinning. “Thanks to you!” 

“I tackled you,” Ukai deadpanned. 

“You saved me,” Takeda corrected, mischievously. “My hero!” 

Ukai blushed. 

As other coaches and advisors came over to assess the damage, and Takeda was eased onto a bench to rest with a cold bottle of water, Ukai stalked outside and lit a cigarette. Keeping track of everyone was harder than he expected, and with Takeda seemingly always in some form of danger it was giving him a heart condition. 

He would act like this if it was anyone else, he thought to himself, there’s nothing special about Takeda. He just didn’t want to see anyone knock their teeth out with a volleyball, that’s all. 

Once the game had wrapped up, the kids loaded onto the bus for the drive home, and Ukai insisted on driving so that Takeda could take it easy. The teacher honest to god pouted, but relented and took the passenger seat as they made the trek home. The game had finished up in good timing, but it was still getting well past dinnertime when the team got unloaded and on their way. Ukai texted his mother to have plenty of meat buns available, expecting a hoard of hungry teenagers any moment. 

“So are you really doing alright Sensei,” he questioned as they packed up the remainder of the gear, “Cause I fell on you pretty hard. All your bones intact?” 

Takeda laughed. “I’m fine, Ukai, but thanks for your concern. And for your quick thinking! I definitely don’t want a repeat of a few weeks ago, at least not anytime soon.” Ukai hummed in agreement. 

“Although…”

Ukai turned his attention back to the teacher when he hesitantly continued talking. 

“I wouldn’t mind a repeat of what happened after my injury...you know, if you wanted to come by for dinner?” 

Ukai’s brain short circuited. 

He must have stood there for way too long, because Takeda was backtracking, waving his hands in the air frantically and saying his apartment was a mess anyways, and Ukai reached out to stop his hands, clinging tightly to them with his own. 

“Takeda. I’d like that.” 

Watching the teacher visibly relax, he chuckled. 

“Let’s grab some takeout and head back to your place right now, yeah? I want to talk about the practice game anyways,” he said, releasing the teacher’s hands and starting to walk down the street, Takeda hot on his heels. 

As they ordered their food and walked back to the small apartment, Ukai laughed and chatted with Takeda, and as they ate they went over countless plays and techniques to work on tomorrow. After dinner they decided to switch on the TV so they could keep talking about the team. Not as an excuse to hang out a little bit longer. 

When Ukai waved goodbye and started his short walk home in the brisk summer air, he found himself smiling around his cigarette. He enjoyed Takeda’s company so much, more than any of his other friends, and being able to hang out outside of the practices was something he didn’t know he was craving until he had a taste of it. As he got back to his small apartment above the general store, he absentmindedly started tidying up the empty beer bottles and dirty clothes, thinking that maybe the next time he could suggest for Takeda to come here and hang out. Maybe they could go out to the fields. Maybe he could teach him how to actually play some volleyball. 

Ukai flopped onto his bed, groaning. If he spent the rest of the night thinking about how soft and beautiful Takeda’s hair had been when he threaded his fingers through it, well, that was nobody’s business.


End file.
